I was wondering if this was the right forum for this thread too, nili, and while I'm fine with wherever it should be, I figured the Western Wall at least pertains to Jewish "history." And I guess it would suffice to let secular authorities handle any unrest (whether it be religiously motived or not)...

In 1 Corinthians 2:2 Paul says he knew nothing except Jesus and him crucified. . . Perhaps 2 Corinthians 5:16 relates to this verse. 2 Corinthians 5:16 (Young's Literal Translation) So that we henceforth have known no one according to the flesh, and even if we have known Christ according to the fle...

I was dismayed to see that there was violence against women gathering at the Western Wall for the thirtieth anniversary of the Women of the Wall movement. It seems similar to the internecine strife in Israel during the first century CE. Haaretz daily quoted the Executive Director of Women of the Wal...

John2, Yeah, I think you are problably right regarding both verses. Do you think there’s any connection between Paul quoting Jesus about divorce in 1 Cor 7 and it was some Pharisees, maybe including Paul, who asked Jesus this question in Matthew 19 or could this be another instance of a saying that...

In 1 Corinthians 2:2 Paul says he knew nothing except Jesus and him crucified. I might be taking this verse completely out of context but perhaps Paul is alluding to the fact that he witnessed the trial and crucifixion but never met or heard of Jesus prior to his final week in Jerusalem. And one of...

My first thought is that we would have to jettison Acts (which I've come to appreciate more over the last few years). But as I poke around the internet, I see that some people use Acts to make the argument that Paul could have known Jesus while he was alive, such as here: But had Paul ever met Jesus...

I've always heard (and assumed) that Paul never met Jesus, but as I think about his timeline and what he says in his letters, I can't think of anything that precludes that he did, and I don't mean in the sense that they were pals or Paul learned anything from him, but in the sense that he knew of Je...

And I think it's worth pointing out here something I've noted before elsewhere, that the only other instance of the use of Paul's expression "works of the law" in ancient writings is in the Dead Sea Scrolls, where it means exactly what I'm suggesting it means in Paul's case, i.e., Torah observance a...

robert j said he was done discussing the issue with me but I wanted to follow up on something he wrote about faith and good works: But even with justification by faith, good works were required --- "Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcer...

All well said, Ben. The only thing that I would add to this tangent (to follow up on the idea that Paul could be the Liar in the DSS) is that I wouldn't see it as a big deal if Paul is the Liar. We already know that some post-70 CE Jewish Christians rejected Paul, and Acts at least presents some pre...